about some well-meaning folks, a difficult military man, and one ill-prepared and uncertain alien…

I’ve fallen off the writing routine train and I can’t get up! Seriously, though, I need to take a break on continuing this serial for a little while, as other projects beckon. Thanks to whoever the heck you are for reading along thus far. I apologize for leaving things where they are, at approximately two-fifths of the way through this story. I will very likely return to it in a little while. Don’t fret for Erke, he’ll be fine.

If you want more readings in the meantime that aren’t serial based, please feel free to check out the links to the right side of this post. The silly little taco blog will continue for a while, so stop in there for pointless and short-winded comments. And, as noted, my book (Last Call for Wherewithal) is e-published and available pretty much anywhere those things are sold. No obligation to buy, of course. But it IS only $1.99. Just sayin’.

At any rate, sorry again for the temporary stoppage. I’ll be back! Hopefully you will too:)

The van skidded to a stop and the side door slid open immediately. A tall man with a dark complexion jumped to the ground, holding a television camera aloft on his left shoulder. Behind him emerged a well-dressed blonde woman, carrying a microphone. She seemed familiar to Joe, as his tendency to drunkenly pass out on his couch with the TV on often lead to waking up to the sight of the local morning show host. The woman jumped in front of the cameraman and counted down from three with her fingers.

“Good morning everyone, this is Catherine Moss reporting live! Normally at this time of day, I’m in the studio, talking with one of the many fascinating citizens that make our town so great. I believe that bakery owner Dena Pratt was going to be on this morning, and I do apologize to Dena for having to cancel. We’ll get her on real soon, as her pies are a-ma-zing!

However, something bigger than pies is going on here at the airport. We were tipped off to a major event, and here now, on the scene, we intend to find out exactly what is happening. C’mon Nathan.”

The woman strode purposefully past the police car where the three men were subdued, and directly towards the center of the ordeal. The cameraman followed. The soldiers didn’t notice until the pair set foot smack in the middle of everything. The reporter began shouting above the chaos.

“What’s going on here? Who is in charge? Why are these armed men trying to force their way into that car?”

Every man with a gun looked at her in surprise, at the cameraman in shock, and then to the Major, who stood speechless and gobsmacked at the whole thing. He shook from his momentary stupor and walked aggressively towards the woman.

“You need to shut that off, right now! You can’t film this, it is government business. This is not something for public viewing.”

Ms Moss, sensing a story more than imminent danger, made a direct path for the likely commander.

“What is going on? The people have a right to know. You cannot keep secrets from the American public. They have rights.”

“No ma’am, you will stop this, right now. Men, destroy that camera. This is not something you are allowed to film.”

“You can’t! You are violating the freedom of press. Stay away from him!”

Three soldiers approached Nathan the cameraman, who backed up stiffly. From the van, another person emerged.

“Hey, stop it! Erke’s in there, isn’t he? Let him out! The world needs to see him. You can’t do this!”

Katie ran past the reporter towards the wagon, but met with resistance. She kept yelling.

“Let him out, you can’t keep hiding this! Let him go!”

The Major looked at the new interloper, unsure of who she was and why she wore a uniform. He felt control of the situation slipping away.

Nathan held the camera high above soldiers. They wanted to impose their will and take his device but, as this was being filmed, felt unsure about the level of force they should use.

Thus the show continued, live, going out to whatever local insomniacs typically tuned in to be entertained at four each morning.

Eli and Walt pushed away from their uncertain captors and returned to the fray, forcing themselves around the reporter to provide protection.

Joe pressed through the mayhem to Katie’s side, equaling her screams with his own.

The Major watched it all, utterly unsure just how to untangle this disaster. He reached for his gun, held it high in the air, and fired once. The crowd went quiet, and looked his way.

“This ends now!”

He was correct.

The back door from the wagon flew open, slamming the Major in the back and knocking him to the ground. A total of nineteen troops, two cops, two television employees, one farmer, and a few hundred barely awake Barrow, Alaska citizens looked on live as, for the first time ever, a being not of their planet, appeared. All those viewing were stunned into silence. It wouldn’t last long.

Someone outside pounded twice on the roof of the wagon. The soldier closest to the door looked out through the curtain-covered windows, and nodded. He grasped the handle and pulled it down. Fresh air entered the vehicle.

“Let’s go Erke.”

The alien looked back to the Major and nodded. He stood in the bent-over posture necessitated by the low roof, and scooted to the opening. Upon reaching the lip, he looked ahead. Another dozen soldiers, weapons pointed directly his way, stood in a half-circle. Erke jumped to the ground, took two steps forward, and stopped.

“Come this way.”

Another man in uniform barked. The prisoner didn’t move.

“I said this way!”

Erke looked at the ground and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the top of his head had changed color. The deep red shade shifted to a pale blue. Several of the men nearest him gasped.

“I’m not going anywhere. Not if any of you want to survive.”

The company kept their weapons trained on the strange being, but nobody else spoke.

“You had assumed I didn’t have any powers. Well, I do. See?”

Erke pointed to his skull, a pointless exercise as everyone near him was already looking at it.

“If you force me to get on that plane, I will, um, use this power to destroy you all.”

Only the Major, who was still crouching from the inside of the wagon, had the nerve to speak up.

“How will you destroy us? What is this power?”

The men turned to the Major, and then back to Erke, who himself now looked at the man who asked the question. The alien put his hands on his hips, and paused a moment, as if to consider an answer.

“It…doesn’t matter. Or, maybe you would like to be the first victim. Now, out of my way!”

Nobody budged.

“I’m warning you all. You will not like to feel the force of my amazing alien power. This is your last chance!”

A few of the soldiers looked nervous, and glanced at their comrades for reassurance. The Major jumped down to the ground and walked up to Erke. If he feared anything, it didn’t show at all.

“Erke, I think that if you had the power to hurt any of us, you would’ve used it already. If I’m wrong, then go ahead and use it on me to prove your superiority.”

“I…”

The alien looked shaken. The familiar shade of red slowly colored his head again. He looked at the men keeping him in their sights, looking a bit tenser than before. His attention returned to the Major.

“I don’t…”

Something caught his eye before he could fully come clean, as his view a head above the ring of soldiers allowed the flashing blue and red lights of an oncoming vehicle to catch him off guard.

“What’s that?”

The Major turned his head to look, and the military men followed suit. They watched the car approach extremely quickly. The man in charge grabbed his captive and pushed him back into the ambulance, shutting its doors behind. His focus came back to the nearly arrived cops. He reached for his gun and held it, still holstered on its belt. The police cruiser skidded to a stop a few feet away.

—

“You stay put Joe.”

Eli and Walt opened the car doors and stepped outside. They walked no further than the front hood of the car, where the Major and a dozen of his company stood at attention.

“Gentlemen, you have no business here. This is a military issue.”

Eli was ready to fly off the handle, but Walt, being Walt, took the initiative in an attempt not to let emotions get out of control.

“No sir, that’s incorrect. You see, we received a 911 call and dispatch sent us out. However, you prevented us from doing that job. Not only that, but you hid evidence and manipulated a witness. You disturbed a crime scene. This is without a doubt a police matter.”

“Officer, you couldn’t be more wrong. The depth of this issue makes it solely the jurisdiction of the United States military. You both need to leave. Now.”

“I’m sorry Major, but no. We aren’t going anywhere until we fully investigate this case. And you cannot prevent us from doing this.”

Each of the men facing the cops raised their gun. The Major spoke flatly.

“You gentlemen need to go.”

Eli and Walt stood their ground, staring daggers at the man in charge.

“We know you have Erke! Let him go!”

Joe had slipped out of the car, unbeknownst to anyone there.

The Major smiled at his declaration and reached to pull open the back door of the wagon. Two of his men grabbed the arms of the captive, and pulled him outside for all to see. Erke straightened, and stared at the newly arrived.

“Hi Joe. Good to see you again.”

The cops took a step back in mild shock. Until that moment, they hadn’t fully allowed themselves to actually believe it. Joe smiled and nodded at Erke, who returned favor.

“Since you three already know, there isn’t much point in hiding him. We’re putting him on this plane and getting out of here. Now clear out.”

“No way!”

Joe ran a few steps towards the captive, but the two soldiers holding him un-holstered their weapons and lifted them into position. Joe stopped in his tracks. Eli and Walt lifted their guns in response. Each creature in the vicinity, except for two, pointed a barrel at someone else.

Joe, frozen in fear, stood still.

Erke’s panic manifested itself in action.

He scanned the military men, realized that none of them were looking his way, and dove back inside the ambulance. The door was pulled firm and locked. It wasn’t much of an escape, but it was something. The Major spewed fire.

“Enough! You men there, go and disarm those cops. We are leaving, and taking our prisoner. If you’re lucky, we’ll let you cow-town sheriffs keep your normal lives after this.”

Four military men walked over to the policemen. With little choice in the matter due to being severely out gunned, they let their revolvers drop. The soldiers pushed each man back against their car, forcing Eli and Walt and Joe into submission, facing away from the scene.

“Now get him out of there.”

Another group of four began yanking and pulling on the handles of the wagon’s back door. It wouldn’t open. A fifth man walked up and began bashing the handle with the butt of his gun. It dented the metal door with each strike, but did nothing to force the captive out. Erke was holding on for dear life inside.

“Stop fighting him! Just break the windows and force it open!”

The major’s frustration soared, and he completely focused his attention on getting the alien out of that wagon and onto the plane. Likewise, the company circling the ambulance also concerned themselves simply with whatever method of extraction would work. Even the two soldiers who were keeping the three interlopers restrained watched on. If just one of these men had bothered to turn and look in the same direction that Joe, Eli, and Walt were being forced to look, they would have seen something else entirely. Another vehicle, this one a white van, barreled towards them at alarming speed. As it approached, Joe could just make out the writing across the hood. It said, Channel 8 News.

Eli fumed, and quickly turned the ignition on the police cruiser. Exhaust spewed from the car’s tailpipe as anger did the same from the car’s driver.

“I knew it, dammit. Friggin’ military doing this kind of shit. Pisses me off. As soon as I saw that Major, I knew that he was no good. Stinking liar. They all are, can’t trust any of ’em.”

Katie strapped herself into the backseat and glanced into the rear view mirror to catch the driver’s eyes. He noticed her fatigues and mixed expression.

“Sorry ma’am. I didn’t mean you.”

Walt shifted his weight and looked back at her.

“Young lady, he knows that not all of you folks are untrustworthy. He just has his reasons for not being too fond of the military. And, without getting into the details, I can assure you, there is a valid justification for his contempt.”

Katie shifted her eyes from Walt back to Eli, whose angry stare foretold something upsetting in his past. She gave him a half smile.

“S’okay, I didn’t take it personally. It’s fine.”

The driver nodded and forced a grin in response. His attention returned to the vehicle, which now accelerated quickly onto the empty street. Katie stared out the side window, reliving the path that lead her to this moment. Her own history had plenty of strife, which gave her sufficient reason to feel a similar distrust towards anyone in a uniform. Herself included.

“Joe, is there anything else you can tell us about this? Is there something about the alien or the Major that you’re forgetting?”

Joe answered the back of Walt’s head.

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I only spent a few moments with each. So, I can’t recall much beyond what I already told you.”

“Sure, sure. Well, we’re about ten minutes from the airport. Hopefully we can get there before them.”

The police car barreled down the cold, barren street. Nobody else was out on the road despite the light still being prevalent. It ticked just past three-thirty in the morning.

Quiet anxiousness filled the vehicle, until the Star Wars cantina song digitally blasted from the back seat. Katie jumped, while Joe frantically sent his right hand to grab his phone. He glanced at the screen and hit the answer button.

“Abby! Thank you for calling! Yeah…yes. You saw it! Great. No, it is completely real. I know! Ok, so, what can you do?”

The car continued its bumpy path, as all four people inside listened intently to what only one of them could really hear.

“That all sounds great. She…we think they’re taking him to the airport, to make it all go away. I know. We’re trying to get there first in hopes of stopping that from happening. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s all we can do. If he disappears, I don’t know what good all this will do. Yeah, television would help, but this is Barrow. I mean, we have a station, but…”

Katie’s eyes went wide.

“I know! I know! Eli, go to the office park on the right before you get to the big economy lot. Just up there! Channel eight! I work there part-time. I know people! I can help with that!”

“Ok, will do.”

Katie rifled through her purse and pulled out a laminated badge.

“Abby, we might be able to…oh, you heard. That was Katie. No…shut up. She is not.”

Joe looked at his back seat neighbor, who grinned at the way he squirmed.

“Just…listen. Put the video out there like you said. Get folks to find it, and contact who you can. And cross your fingers.”

The car bounded over a speed bump and into a nearly empty parking lot. A giant, blue neon number eight stuck out just above a dimly lit lobby.

“Gotta go Abby. Ok. We’ll be careful. Love you too.”

Joe hung up and looked to his right. Nothing was there, except for the swaying of a firmly pushed open passenger door. Katie had already bolted out of sight.

—

The ambulance sat alone on the far edge of a runway. A plane, marked United States Air Force, placed the first of its three wheels firmly down on the other end.

Erke heard the rumble of the aircraft come slowly closer.

“Men, prepare to open the back door.”

The major looked at the alien and saw what appeared to be anxiety on his face.

“Don’t panic, I’m sure they will give you all the light you need.”

Erke ignored the comment, instead focusing on the upcoming moment, and what very well could be his last chance.

—

“Use the access road Eli. It’s around to the side of the terminal.”

“Roger, hang on.”

The car raced past the concourse and hung a sharp right, screeching its tires loudly across the ground.

“Easy pal, don’t go wrapping us around a lamppost or something.”

The driver kept punishing the accelerator.

“We’re stopping these suckers. I’m tired of this secretive crap.”

A cyclone gate sat about thirty yards ahead of the quick-charging cruiser. Into view came a white sign that read Security Entrance: Hours 6:00AM to Midnight. No guards, or anyone else, were there.

“Hang on guys.”

Walt looked at his partner, but couldn’t get out a word of protest in time.

The car slammed though the metal fencing, sending a chunk of it, along with the driver-side mirror and search light, bouncing violently to the left. Eli spun the wheel to the right and gunned the motor, pushing the trio quickly ahead.

“Jesus H Christ Eli, have you lost it? We don’t have clearance to drive through a locked gate.”

The driver sped along the desolate tarmac, and could only mumble a detached agreement back while continuing to stare ahead.

“I know, Walt, I know.”

He pushed them though two rows of parked prop planes, and the vehicle emerged onto an open expanse of concrete. Up ahead about three hundred yards, a large blue and white plane had just pushed its passenger door open. Eli bit his bottom lip, and flipped the switch to turn on the flashing red and blue roof lights.

For a time, fantastic stories of heroes traveling the galaxy filled the minds of Shifka’s young. Intensely popular during the earliest days of cross planetary travel between Erke’s world and its four nearest neighbors, they detailed remarkable adventures of amazing fellow beings. The excitement of the unknown fueled a passion for these tall tales.

The reality, though, was that relationships among the many different species got off to a rocky start. Communication and acceptance can be difficult to obtain when alien civilizations make first contact. Due to this, more and more stories were told for entertainment-sake about the horribleness of the other places. It felt like a way to deal with all the uncertainty. These fictional accounts held sway over the youth of Shifka, and continued to do so long after the kids who read them turned into adults who knew better.

Erke and Emkie were obsessed as kids with a series based on their planet’s furthest new friend, Slune. There, within an arid landscape filled with dirty buildings and shady characters, one noble Shifkajn tried to free scores of unjustly incarcerated travelers. This hero, Elojonea, fought everyone and anyone for his race’s freedom.

Emkie’s favorite bits were the elaborate escape plans that Elonjea created. The detail and creativity of these ideas fascinated him, and lead to a compulsion in school of learning as much about a subject that he possibly could. The success he enjoyed now in his educational life mirrored such a focus.

His older brother, on the other hand, loved when the hero would deviate from a plan and decide to simply start destroying things and creatures with bare hands. Elojonea was tremendously powerful on Slune, thanks to some improbable, impossible, yet reasonable-to-children natural phenomenon. He busted through bars, walls, and whatever else stood in his way when the plan went sour.

Erke couldn’t get enough of this. When things go wrong, that’s ok, yet-undiscovered gifts would get him out of any problem. Erke watched, waited, and hoped countless times that the issues of his own life could be destroyed with the appearance of some magical ability. Recently, he had begun to lose faith that it ever would.

The situation he now faced seemed like one his boyhood idol suffered, but there would be no similar escape. Erke looked at the men that surrounded him, and the weapons they held. He had no answer for that. Even if it was just him against them hand-to-hand, an unfortunate conclusion would be definite. Erke hadn’t fought anyone since his youth, and that had only been his smaller brother. One on one against a soldier, perhaps, with luck. One on six, no way. This was not Elojonea against the Slunetians. This was Erke against the humans, and this story would likely have a very believable, and non-heroic, ending.

The Major and one of his charges walked over and pointed at the back of the wagon. It looked cramped and uncomfortable, with no way out. Erke figured that he would likely have to get used to that feeling. He glumly stepped up and entered the space.

The vehicle felt drafty. Erke pulled a furry blanket tightly around his shoulders. He hadn’t felt warm once on this planet, and realizing this, pulled the wrap even more snugly. The major saw his huddling.

“Don’t worry, the rest of the country isn’t this cold. You’ll warm up once you’re out of Alaska.”

“Sounds just great.”

His flat delivery sounded borderline sarcastic. It was another example of the humanistic behavior from the alien, which caught the major off guard each time it happened.

“Are the rest of your people like you?”

“I’m not a people.”

Erke’s blunt response chaffed the long-time military man. Nobody talked to him like that. If someone under his command ever did, they were dealt with severely. Given the situation though, the Major swallowed hard, and corrected his inquiry.

“Are the rest of…the citizens on your planet like you?”

The ambulance accelerated slowly out of the building. Erke thought for a few more moments before responding.

“If I were to ask you that question, if the rest of the humans were like you, how would you answer? Would you say yes? Are all humans the same?”

There was no response from the Major, as he simply stared at his captive, who went on without prompting.

“You seem to think that anyone not from earth is just…one type of creature. Like we’re all from the same mold, unlike the special earthlings. That couldn’t be more wrong. If you guys would only get off this planet and meet some different species, you’d start to grasp that. You might start to understand more about yourselves as well.”

Erke shuddered. It wasn’t just from the cold. He had never been known as a talkative or articulate individual by his friends and co-workers. His boss often chastised him for the lack of depth in their weekly reviews. This response he just gave to his captor might have been the most lucid and eloquent thing he’d said for many years. Being away from home in this tight situation started loosening something inside.

“Humans are the same, mostly.”

The Major, looking a little irritated from the accusation, continued his response.

“There are small differences, of course. Height, weight, humor, intelligence, etc. I think we’re mostly alike though, as a…species. I mean, I guess it depends on your scale. We’re not clones. Still, I don’t believe there’s a wide range of characteristics. One man may be able to lift two or three times the poundage of another man, but it doesn’t get more extreme than that. Nobody can fly. Nobody can turn invisible, or break down walls with their bare hands. There aren’t really any heroes. Nobody is Superman in real life.”

The vehicle came to a stop. The seven in the back sat silently, lost in their own thoughts. Erke fixated on the end of the major’s statement. He didn’t know who Superman was, but based on the sentiment leading up to the mention, he knew what it meant. His mind spun.

Joe and Katie burst through the front door of the police station, nearly knocking over a short, heavyset, older woman holding a potted fern.

“Ah, watch it you two! Where’s the fire?”

“Oh, sorry, we didn’t see you there.”

“And there’s no fire.”

“I didn’t mean it literally, young lady.”

The woman put the plant down carefully and picked up a silver watering can from the floor. She walked in measured, patient steps to the next pot, a cactus sitting about five feet further down the hall. The two intruders could only follow her. Katie’s patience burned short.

“We need to talk to a couple of cops, right now.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that? Did you see a crime?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Then why do you need to see a cop?”

“It’s a matter of life and death.”

The woman gave a bored look at Katie, and continued her watering.

“It always is.”

“Listen, Officer…”

“Martin.”

“Officer Martin, it is really critical that we talk to, um, what were their names Joe?”

“Eli and Walt.”

“First names, huh? They you’re buddies?”

“Ma’am, officer, please. It really is very important. Are they on duty right now? Please.”

The officer looked at Joe, and grumbled.

“Yeah, they’re still out there. Their shift doesn’t end for a couple hours yet, so they should be on patrol somewhere right now.”

“Can you call them? Please, I have to talk to them.”

“What is this about?”

Joe looked at Katie, who started blurting the last thing she should have.

“It’s about an alie…”

“It’s about an al-earlier visit they paid to my house. I have some new info to tell them about the case.”

The stout woman sighed, unimpressed, but walked back around a partition to sit at what was likely her desk. Joe leaned in to Katie.

“Sorry to interrupt you, but I don’t think that two people screaming about aliens at three in the morning will bring about the kind of help we need.”

She shrugged an acceptance, and they both looked to the officer who now held a small black radio receiver in her hand.

“Eli, Walt, you guys copy? 10-4.”

The room was silent.

“Eli, Walt, copy. 10-4.”

Again, nothing.

“I don’t know, they’re not in their car. Maybe they’re investigating something. Why don’t you guys go home and try again later today. It can’t be that important.”

“It really is.”

“I’m sure, but they ain’t responding. So, rather than stay here getting in my way, you really need to get out of here.”

The two looked at one another, but neither could formulate anything additional to say to the policewoman. They turned to head out the front, but in the process were nearly knocked down by a pair just coming through.

“Whoa, sorry there. Oh, hiya Joe. What are you doing here?”

Eli held a cup of coffee in each hand and walked to Officer Martin’s desk, settling one there. Walt stood before the pair, awaiting an answer.

—

A red-haired soldier stepped inside the door of the building and addressed the Major.

“Sir, the plane should be landing in about thirty minutes. Should we begin to assemble for departure?”

Erke looked at the man, shocked that a variety of human came colored so similar to him. Even though it was only his hair, the alien still wondered if some sort of cross-breeding had been at work in his design.

“Fine Sergeant, thank you. We’ll get ready to leave.”

The messenger glanced at Erke, who continued staring his way. He turned on his heels and exited the facility, suddenly sweating.

“Men, we’re going to take the wagon out to BRW. Four of you will accompany me and our visitor-friend here in the back, while another two of you will sit up front. The rest of you will stay here with the ship. We will be heading out to meet the plane and transfer the pr…er, Erke to the arriving group.”

Erke watched the men stir, and his uneasiness began to swell. The reality of his situation was abundantly clear, and he felt he needed to try something to alter the path that seemed imminent.

“Uh, Major?”

The military man held a clipboard before his eyes and didn’t look up from it to reply.

“Yes Erke?”

“This planet has, um, laws right?”

The major gave the board to a smaller man to his right, and looked straight into the pale white eyes to answer.

“Sure, naturally. So, aren’t there laws in place that would, um, prevent you from taking me somewhere? Against my will?”

“Well, we have the right to detain people, or whoever, that may be dangerous to the population at large.”

“But I’m not dangerous. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You might, though.”

“I…guess you can say that. However, anyone could be dangerous. You might be, yourself.”

The Major started to answer, but stopped himself. Instead, he just exhaled deeply and crossed his arms.

“Erke, we have laws in place to do what we’re doing. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to trust me.”

There were plenty of things Erke trusted, but this man was not anywhere on that list. He thought about his home planet and the laws in place as he understood them. Surely, on Shifka, they couldn’t do this. Could they?

Erke had heard complaints about those that enforced the law, and how they took liberties from time to time with how and when to apply it. At one point, he had assumed his world wouldn’t allow such activity anymore. However, eventually, he accepted that those concerns must be coming from some very real events.

The Major and his troops prepped the ambulance for the trip. Erke watched, and considered the oppression of his planet’s past. His mind drifted back to his childhood, and the hero that he so admired. He closed his eyes and remembered Elonjea.

The Major looked at the alien, who was still sitting on the cot’s edge.

“Just tell me again.”

“Is this a thing that humans struggle with? Short-term memory loss?”

“No. I just need to ask you officially, for this form.”

“What is the form for?”

“Ugh. How about if you tell me your name, and then I will tell you what the form is for.”

“Alright. My name is Erke. Now why do you have a form?”

“How do you spell Erke?”

“I have no idea?”

“What?”

“I can’t spell my name for you.”

“Why not?”

“Remember what I told you before, about the translating device for my ears and mouth?”

“Yeah.”

“It doesn’t help with reading or writing. I have no idea what the letters of your alphabet look like, so I can’t spell anything. The newer devices fixed that problem, but only children have them at this point. The kids today get all the cool stuff.”

“Ok, fine, I’ll just sound it out.”

“Great. Now why the form?”

“We just want some history on you.”

“We?”

“Yes. We, the military.”

“So, people outside of this room.”

“People inside and outside, correct.”

“The ones that are going to come and get me.”

“That’s…yes.”

“Do you know where they’re going to take me?”

“No, that’s classified.”

“I see. Do you know when they will be here?”

“They are on their way. An hour I believe, give or take.”

“Ah. Well, guess I shouldn’t make myself too comfortable.”

Erke raised himself to his feet and stood, towering over the major still seated on the stool.

“Wouldn’t you rather sit down?”

“No, I’m fine like this.”

The major looked up at him. Erke was getting agitated and antsy. He couldn’t sit still with this impending potential doom. His mind raced, but ideas about getting out of this situation were slow to develop. The military man shrugged and looked at his board once more.

“Suit yourself. Next question. What planet are you from?”

“Uh…Shifka.”

He considered giving a bogus answer, but was too preoccupied to think about any advantage of lying about that.

“I see, and where is it?”

“I don’t know, out there somewhere.”

Erke motioned at the ceiling, and started to pace.

“Out where. What are the coordinates?”

“Coordinates? Not quite sure. I’m rather rotten with maps, actually.”

“Is that why you ended up on earth? You’re saying you got lost?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Don’t assume that.”

Erke’s pacing back and forth in front of the cot picked up speed. It was basically two long strides each way. The major watched wearily.

“Maybe you should try to calm down a little.”

“I’m fine.”

The alien kept moving, glancing up at the dusky blue above.

“Is the light bothering you? I know that most of us took awhile to adjust to this.”

Erke stopped, and looked at the inquisitor.

“What do you mean?”

“The midnight sun, it’s called. Here in Barrow, we get a couple of months where the sun never really sets. It is always light. Reverse is true in the winter, of course.”

“This…isn’t normal?”

“Light at two in the morning? No, not at all. Just about everywhere else on earth is dark when this time of night rolls around.”

“Dark? No light at all?!?”

“That’s right. Is that a problem?”

“YES! That’s a huge problem. I can’t…our planet faces a star all the time. Well, the livable side does. We don’t experience any darkness. Shifka doesn’t rotate.”

“Oh really? Huh, that’s amazing. How does it affect you? I mean, does it, like…hurt your species if you don’t get any light?”

“Hurt? Yes! It will really hurt us. I mean, badly.”

“Will it kill you?”

Erke looked at the Major, working out his response to this question slowly. His eyes widened, showing even more white, and he answered.

“I can’t live without it.”

–

“This is dumb”

The motorbike bumped along, cold wind whipping past the helmeted heads of the driver and passenger.

“What?”

“I said this is dumb!”

The driver slowed to a stop, let the engine idle, pulled her helmet off, and turned to ask again.

“What?”

Joe removed his headgear as well.

“This is a dumb plan. I can’t believe you want to try to sneak onto the base.”

“The entry guards are gone at this hour. There will be a couple of patrolmen out on foot, but I know a few tricks to get past them. Don’t you remember that one night? I left your place at like 3:30 and still made it to my quarters before morning inspection.”

“I remember.”

Joe smiled. Katie’s cheeks, frigid from the late night air, blushed with color. She turned her attention from the man seated behind her back to the road ahead.

“Anyway, we can make it on foot. It will be easy to get to the hangar.”

“And then what?”

“We get him out of there.”

“Just like that? Past the men with guns? They might object.”

“Well, we’ll have the element of surprise.”

“And they’ll have the element of bullets.”

“So, what’s your big idea then?”

Joe thought for a moment. His mind raced back east, where he hoped his sister would awaken soon to find a large video file in her email inbox. He came back to his surroundings, glancing around the quiet tree-lined street.

“How do you think they’ll take him away?”

“Out of Barrow? Well, it won’t be by car, that’s for sure. A helicopter can’t make it if they intend to take him all the way down to somewhere in the states.”

“So that leaves a plane.”

“Well, this is the Air Force. We have a few. Plus, there is a short runway on the base.”

“True, but is that runway big enough to handle larger planes? Like, bigger than fighters?”

“No, usually transports go and land at the main airport to the north. If a big shot is coming in, that’s where they direct him.”

“Ok, that means…”

“It means that they’ll probably stick Erke back in the ambulance and truck him out to meet the aircraft landing there. I bet they’ll just push him on the plane, and it will go right back up again and off to wherever.”

“Then that’s where we’ll need to try to grab him.”

“At the airport.”

“Exactly. If we try here, they’ll just catch us and put us in the stockade or whatever until he’s gone. But, if we do it on the runway when they try to make the transfer, it will be out in the open. It will cause a commotion and bring attention. It will also be on airport property, so maybe there will be other people who will intervene.”

“That sounds like…an idea. Would we be able to get out past security to do that? I mean, they usually frown on people running across the tarmac. We’d be trespassing, I suppose.”

“Yeah, the airport is locked up otherwise, and the TSA wouldn’t just let us pass. We’ll need some kind of…help.”

“What?”

“Another idea. Put your helmet on, we need to go.”

“Two ideas? Wow, you’ve changed.”

Joe looked at Katie mock adoringly, and slid the plastic shield down around his ears. She smiled earnestly in response.

looking to start at the start? scroll down in each month…

The story of this story…

The blog entries posted to the left of your screen are the pieces of a story, parceled out in serial form. That story, titled "A Hero Named Lightman (One Not-Heroic, Non-Man's story),," is currently complete, though in first draft mode.

This blog is being done as a (hopefully) fun way to motivate (force) myself to buckle down and complete a re-write.

Sound appealing? Great. No? Well, there is something else you can do...

The story of that story…

Not into second-draft non-action? Well, there are some other readings you can feast your eyes on.

"Last Call for Wherewithal" is the first story I completed, and is available for purchase in that great e-pub in the sky. Most of the normal online shops offer it, but if you wanna pick one, you can go with Lulu.

In addition, I contribute to a fun taco and burrito blog. Where is it at? Funny you should ask! Visit The Taco The Town for Mexican food related hi-jinks.

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